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Rifle Scopes Mark 6 3-18 Question/Problem

B

bp7178

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Aug 28, 2011
265
110
#1
After waiting about 4 months I just got my 3-18 TMR Mark 6. Easily the most exciting scope I've owned, I like every feature on it.

Save for two issues. My turret doesn't line up on zero. Not the biggest deal in the world, but annoying. The correct reading is always on the right side of the arrow. Because of the way the zero stop works with the low turrets, its nothing you can change. Its always looks like its reading .1 off. That being said, the clicks are amazing. Very good feel, very good sound to them. WAY better than my Mark 4 was.

IMG_0669_zpsff261b7c.jpg


The other problem, I don't know if its a problem. When twisted down all the way down to 3x, there is this odd abstraction along the right side, from about the 12 o'clock to the 5 o'clock. If you twist the power ring to ever so slightly raise it off of the stop on 3x it goes away. If you fudge your eye relief a bit, it goes away as well. It just seems odd that its only on one side. The eye relief length you see it at is the ideal length for the entire magnification range. In the pic the camera is slightly off center, when lined up directly behind the scope you notice it as well.

IMG_0671_zps2884c094.jpg


Now, Leupold has already sent a tag so I can send it back to them, which I'm hesitant to do because I waited so long for it but will probably get it sent off after this weekend. The rifle it is going on has been collecting dust way too long. The point of the thread though; has any other 3-18 owners seen anything like the optical abstraction? I don't ever recall seeing anything like it on my other FFP scope, which was a Vortex one.
 
#4
No change with the diopter adjustment.

Under the turret, it appears the zero stop channel isn't aligned properly.

IMG_0673_zps83792a5f.jpg


The perspective of the picture is a tick off, but the distance the reference mark, which you may not be able to see, is in relation to where the tube arrow is accounts for how far off the turret designations are off.

My luck just isn't good. I waited probably 6 months for a Schmidt & Bender 1-4x24 only to have to send it in for repairs. Specs on the ocular lens and illumination issues. I buy a motorcycle July 3, 2014...and an asshole rear ends me on August 8th while I was stopped at a red light.
 
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#6
I don't want my experience to take away from the overall design. It is truly an amazing scope.

That being said, I am sick of being QC for optic companies. Leupold isn't the first.
 
#10
The pictured turret is the M5C2. It is not loose at all and very positive. There is zero play in it, it just doesn't align right.

IMO by feel/sound it exceeds the turrets which were on my NF 2.5-10x42.
 
#12
I just had to update this. So I did send it in to Leupold. Back and forth we went, and they sent another one. Completely different. Not a repair but a replacement. Rock on right? Nope. Same problems, with the addition of a better one!

This time the entire reticle is shifted.

photo4_zps679b4b1d.jpg


This is very difficult to capture with an iPhone camera, but that notwithstanding, look at the 20 mil hash mark on the horzontal section of the crosshair in relation to the edge of the image. Verticle 20 mil hash marks as well...

Back to Leupold it goes. They agree to refund my card.

So I got and buy one from a retail dealer. The one(s) from Leupold were purchased under their fed/mil program. With the retail one, the elevation turret aligns as it should. No problem there. But, the reticle is shifted to the left once more.

photo13_zpsbd20ca42.jpg


This makes my third Mark 6. The bad part is, on 18x there is less of a difference on the right and left as compared to lesser magnifications. Now I don't know that much about scope design, but am somewhat mechanically inclined. This would lead me to suspect there are some threads or a tube in the internal mechanism which are in no way concentric; suggesting its tracking on a diagonal path. I can't imagine at the price point this is at i'm being too critical to ask that the reticle is centered in the f'n tube. I didn't even mount the last two scope.

I can't imagine what the people at UPS think. Every few days it seems like I'm mailing a rectangular box...again.
 
#16
918v said:
Why did you buy a third one? Why???

Return it and get something else. Stuff like that pisses me off given the amount of money they want.
Click to expand...

Because that scope offers a nice combination of features, design and lightweight performance and he wanted it to work. Plus we took that last scope out of the box, inspected it, made sure the turrets marks lined up and had a total of four people look through the scope, and said the reticle was good to go. I see the reticle appears shifted about a 1/2 mil to the left in the last picture, such does not affect the function of the scope whatsoever, but you're right, it is indeed a pricey scope (even at the SH discounted price) and we somehow did not catch/notice the appearance, when scope was in hand it appeared centered and good to go. We didn't scrutinize the edges of the FOV like the enduser, it just looked right in the hand. So we will work out a return for the guy. I will say this is the first such LEU119214 we've had to take back, we've had great luck with these scopes.

bp7178 I'm on the road the rest of the day my cell is 406-544-3829

Scott
 
#17
While it does not affect function, it speaks volumes about Leupold's attitude toward the customer. Is it too much to ask for a centered reticle and well aligned hash marks? Is that soooo hard to accomplish?

Are you defending this?
 
#20
I bought a Mark 6 3-18 last year and ended up selling it because of what I deemed to be optical anomalies. I chalked it up to the complexity of the optics required to get such a large zoom range in a scope so small. I compared it side by side in a binocular jig I built against a NF F1 for many hours, under varied lighting conditions to draw my conclusions. Here is what I observed:

1. At high mag, objects like birds in an overcast sky would disappear in the outer third of the FOV. They would still be visible in the NF.
2. There was a lot more chromatic aberration with the MK 6.
3. The NF was superior in low light, especially when looking into the deep red glow after sunset.
4. The MK6 was generally colder, more neutral and had brighter greens.
5. The NF was more comfortable to look through for long periods.
6. I loved the TMR FFP reticle.

/Users/roninprotection/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2014/09/19/20140919-111848/IMG_4944.jpg
/Users/roninprotection/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2014/09/19/20140919-111951/IMG_4945.jpg
 
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#22
918v said:
Why did you buy a third one? Why???

Return it and get something else. Stuff like that pisses me off given the amount of money they want.
Click to expand...

Show me another scope with a 6x power range, 12" in length, about 24oz, with locking return to zero turrets and illumination that is currently on the market regardless of price.

Its not like I paid for three and have three junk scopes here. Everyone is doing their part to fix what needs to be fixed.

Its not that the reticle is just off. At the magnification in the pic its 1/2 mil off; which is about 12x. At max power it looks centered. The issue is the shift. It appears to be further off at lower magnification than at upper.

I've spoken with Scott, everything is getting worked out. Now I just need to figure out what to replace it with...
 
#26
I cannot nit pick well enough to have issue with it 1" longer. For me, illumination has always been unused, so not needed and overrated IMO.

Now the weight, sure. It is pretty heavy, but there are heavier out there with a lot of the same features.

But it tracks, provides a good picture, and helps me make hits out to 800. Btw, why would you not want to go with the G2DMR reticle but a plain mil dot?
 
#27
To truly nitpick its a bit over an inch longer but with how everything is positioned and with the larger objective, it would require different rings than what I have.

I was never a fan of the G2 or any reticle with too many subtensions. The price you can get a mil-dot one for is pretty compelling as well.
 
#29
SRSDriver said:
5 mil turrets are a joke, and the Bushnell is significantly heavier.
Click to expand...


What, exactly, is a joke about them?

OP didn't state he was shooting ELR. The 5 mil allows for adequate adjustment with my 20" 308, even for me, at barely 150ft ASL out to the max I've shot at 800. I also don't skip a tenth, as the adjustments are spaced plenty apart.

Now, if I were in CO as yourself, and lobbing lead at 1200+ or mountain to mountain , I bet 10mil turrets would come in handy.
 
#30
bp7178 said:
To truly nitpick its a bit over an inch longer but with how everything is positioned and with the larger objective, it would require different rings than what I have.

I was never a fan of the G2 or any reticle with too many subtensions. The price you can get a mil-dot one for is pretty compelling as well.
Click to expand...

I gotcha. There was a NIB mil dot version in the Optics Sale section not but a few days ago, for $860, IIRC.
 
#31
The Mk6 3-18 is a good scope for what it is... a very compact, light, good power range scope. YES there are things I don't like about my M5C2 mk6 but for eveything else I do like... it works fairly well.
 
#33
Keep sending them back until you get one that is right. It will be worth it in the end since you have stated this is the scope you want. I wouldn't give up. You paid for a high end product of top quality (yes I know there are "better" optics available; that's not the point here) and you should get what you paid for.

Liberty Optics will make it right for you. They have strong dealings with Leupold.

Press on; in the end it will work out.
 
#34
Horrible luck man. Made me go check my Mk6. What are the odds of 4 or 5 in a row? lol

To be honest, I don't trust Leupold's QC that much. I debated a long time before buying my Mk6 before I finally pulled the trigger and hoped for the best. Luckily mine has been solid, but I think from now on I'll go back to NF and Vortex.
 
#35
I am kind of beside myself that they made it out of the factory. Leupold touts that its 100% made in America, but fuck. Not making a strong case for Beaverton's work force.

I'm losing my ass in shipping and the hassle of the whole thing.
 
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#36
To truly nitpick its a bit over an inch longer but with how everything is positioned and with the larger objective, it would require different rings than what I have.

I was never a fan of the G2 or any reticle with too many subtensions. The price you can get a mil-dot one for is pretty compelling as well.
 
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